The first line of research in my lab examines social exclusion and acceptance. The need for positive and lasting connections with others is among the most fundamental of all human motivations. What happens when people experience social exclusion? My research has explored how social exclusion influences aggression, pro-social behavior, self-regulation, emotional responses such as empathy, and physical sensitivity to pain. To explore these and other phenomena, I use measures such as eye-tracking, physical pain responses, reaction time, self-report, and behavioral responses. The second line of research in my lab focuses on self-regulation. Most problems in society can be traced back to problems with self-regulation. For example, self-regulation helps people override their aggressive relationships. In two lines of inquiry, my colleagues and I have examined the neurological basis of self-regulation and have applied the phenomenon of depletion to the domain of romantic relationships. The third line of research focuses on aggression. Although we live in a relatively peaceful historical era, people continue to hurt strangers and loved ones. My research uses multiple methods and measures to understand individual and situational factors that can increase or decrease people's propensity to act aggressively. I also have interests in social neuroscience, consumer behavior, the psychology of religion, motivation, and how to apply the questions in my research to organizational settings.